The almost certain consequences that follow taking even a glass of beer do not crowd into the mind to deter us. If these thoughts occur, they are hazy and readily supplanted with the old threadbare idea that this time we shall handle ourselves like other people. There is a complete failure of the kind of defense that keeps one from putting his hand on a hot stove.

The alcoholic may say to himself in the most casual way, "It won't burn me this time, so here's how!" Or perhaps he doesn't think at all. How often have some of us begun to drink in this nonchalant way, and after the third or fourth, pounded on the bar and said to ourselves, "For God's sake, how did I ever get started again?" Only to have that thought supplanted by "Well, I'll stop with the sixth drink." Or "What's the use anyhow?"

They describe the state of the alcoholic and illustrate these with stories in the More about alcoholism. I could see Jims story who comes up with an excuse and Fred who doesn't think at all.

Show him, from your own experience, how the peculiar mental condition surrounding that first drink prevents normal functioning of the will power (Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 92)

A, former Member and Boss/Friend of mine (R.I.P). Well respected, and Very Serine. Once walked into a Meeting, before the Preamble, walked over to a Newbie 2-3 months sober. The Newbie was sitting in a corner chair, blank stare, alone.

He walked up to him and simply said "You didn't ask for help Today did you?" Sure enough the Newbie had slipped and admitted it to the Group. The only comments were "Did you learn anything?"

Still talked about at times at meeting now days, 15 years later.

Shortly after I sobered up (Again), I was stumbling around in the Fog. Jobless, Mom in the Hospital, when I had to go to her apartment to get something. There sitting on her dinning room table was a framed poem/prayer, The Difference. Look it up, very helpful but not "AA" Approved so we are not suppose to post it here.

But what about the real alcoholic? He may start off as a moderate drinker; he may or may not become a continuous hard drinker; but at some stage of his drinking career he begins to lose all control of his liquor consumption, once he starts to drink.Here is a fellow who has been puzzling you, especially in his lack of control. He does absurd, incredible, tragic things while drinking. He is a real Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He is seldom mildly intoxicated. He is always more or less insanely drunk.

i can certainly see myself in those few lines as it describes me to a t

i have that read out at times when i do the main share at a meeting, i use it in some of the rooms where there are more of the well off type of alcoholics, as i know many will not id with that description at all as they didnt seem to suffer from taking a drink and ending up in a drunken mess and in god knows what kind of trouble the next day there drinking didnt seem to be that way for them

Seriously? Some people here are trying to go out of the way to illustrate that an alcoholic cannot stay away from that first drink on his/her own will.

The one day at a time and all the living stuff comes into play way after recovery. Nobody denying that.

You are the one not reading what was posted in the original post and arguing with your your experience. While the post already talked about 2 kinds of states. One having an internal dialog and the other not thinking at all just picking up.

Show him, from your own experience, how the peculiar mental condition surrounding that first drink prevents normal functioning of the will power (Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 92)

D'oh wrote:Shortly after I sobered up (Again), I was stumbling around in the Fog. Jobless, Mom in the Hospital, when I had to go to her apartment to get something. There sitting on her dinning room table was a framed poem/prayer, The Difference. Look it up, very helpful but not "AA" Approved so we are not suppose to post it here.

I think where we don’t want non AA approved, is when someone is using it to teach others the program, or to prove a point when we disagree on AA matters, but otherwise it’s OK. When my own mother died and we packed up her stuff, that poem/prayer was the only one she had written out in her own hand, so it must have been important to her, I read it at her funeral, and will post it -

THE DIFFERENCE.

I woke up early one morning,And rushed right into the day,I had so much to accomplish,That I didn’t have time to pray.

"As soon as I regained my ability to think, I went carefully over that evening in Washington. Not only had I been off guard, I had made no fight whatever against the first drink. This time I had not thought of the consequences at all. I had commenced to drink as carelessly as thought the cocktails were ginger ale. I now remembered what my alcoholic friends had told me, how they prophesied that if I had an alcoholic mind, the time and place would come I would drink again. They had said that though I did raise a defense, it would one day give way before some trivial reason for having a drink. Well, just that did happen and more, for what I had learned of alcoholism did not occur to me at all. I knew from that moment that I had an alcoholic mind. I saw that will power and self- knowledge would not help in those strange mental blank spots. I had never been able to understand people who said that a problem had them hopelessly defeated. I knew then. It was the crushing blow.

Show him, from your own experience, how the peculiar mental condition surrounding that first drink prevents normal functioning of the will power (Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 92)

Discussions on the powerlessness leaves me grateful I came to my first meeting hopelessly defeated by alcohol and all my attempts with self will and self knowledge and many other ways of trying to stop drinking.It made short work of step one. Then I had to get on with learning about the other 11 steps!

" Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he trust in God and clean house." page 98 A.A.

There was new new member at the Thursday night meeting introducing himself, how he enjoyed the 2 months of sobriety being incarcerated. And he was all determined that when his friend offers him a beer on the way home he would refuse it. So as predicted he friend arrived with a beer and this gentleman refused it and thanked the lord. And then after spending time with his girl friend and her kid, it was time for him to drop her of at her house and when the friend offered him a beer on their way home, it took it. Not a thought about the consequences. Then he went on to talk about how more drinking pursued after that. Many at the correction facility don't reach up for help because they are "sober" at that moment. People don't realize that if we dont do the work, we will hit those blind spots.

Show him, from your own experience, how the peculiar mental condition surrounding that first drink prevents normal functioning of the will power (Alcoholics Anonymous, Page 92)